First time posting, big changes coming...

[Francisco Lopez]

I am currently living in Arlington, TX in a single family home which me and my fiancé are getting ready to rent out. We were thinking of selling whenever the market was crazy hot in hopes to capitalize on the wave of buyers purchasing homes 30k + over asking price. That ship has come and gone. While we do have a lot of equity in the home, we do have a certain number in our heads we would like to make off of the sell if that were the case. We will be moving out hopefully by the end of August and putting the house up for rent. In the meantime we will be saving some money and staying at her mother's house. Our plan is to move to the PNW possibly Seattle area as there is a higher job opportunity than say, Portland. I am looking to do some land hacking once we are reestablished in our area of choosing. My question is, am I better off selling the TX home or using the equity in the TX home to reinvest and build off of? Long term goal is to have multiple STR's with an event space on a really cool scenic property. All thoughts and opinions are welcome!

[Michael Haas]

@Francisco Lopez Airbnb in general, and Land Hacking in particular is a stupendous strategy in Seattle or the greater PNW. We've LandHacked 7 acres up on Stevens Pass and have the property decked out with a Yurt, Tiny House, Historic Schoolhouse, and more to come, rented on Airbnb. Current cashflow is good and as more units come online it'll get even better.

As others have mentioned, keep in mind the "2 of 5 rule" that allows you to cash in $250k in tax-free Capital gains ($500k total for a married couple). Unlike a 1031, which is Tax-Deferred, the "2 of 5 rule" is one of the few strategies that is Tax-Exempt! If the property isn't cashflow-ing much, or if out-of-state management isn't your thing, I'd sell it within 3 years of renting it to take advantage of this rule. If its cashflow-ing/appreciating really well, easy to manage, and meets your goals you can still pull much of your equity out through a cash-out refinance or HELOC. You're probably seeing a pattern lol - Taxes are most people's biggest single expense, so when you're developing your long term investing strategy make sure to focus energy on money moves that defer, eliminate, or don't trigger taxes!

Hit me up anytime to talk more about land hacking up here in the PNW. Sounds like you're off to a great start, now lock in your strategy & execute!